Wachusett Meadow

Wachusett Meadow, originally uploaded by oehlkers.

Nearly perfect outing to an expansive MassAudubon sanctuary in central Mass. today. Walked nearly all the trails they offered (10 miles or so) and saw and heard some remarkable things. The main attraction was an immense heron rookery, which left me awestruck, as if I'd stumbled upon the sacred birthing grounds of some sort of god bird. I could tell the herons were watching me too.



The trail system at Wachusett Meadow is divided into woody lowlands and the side of a nice thousand-foot hill. Milkweed meadows dot the lower half; a huge overgrown pasture can be found on the upper. I started with the buggy lowlands and found myself, almost immediately, in the company of scarlet tanagers. (I used the superear to record the bird's signature chip-burr call). And then moved on to the "Fern Forest Trail" where I had my second quasi-religious experience of the day. I know that earlier in the week I was extolling the virtues of the veery, but now I must say, the hermit thrush wins hands down. I had never heard them quite like this and squatted for some time, recorder in hand (mosquitoes in nose). As always the recordings don't do the experience justice--the sound fills the air as if the forest were a cathedral--but I got two decent takes. The first is by a babbling brook; the second louder, but dominated by airplane noise.

The path up the mountain wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. Unlike many other summits, the top of Brown Hill is full of vegetation and bird-life. I immediately heard a towhee and pushed record;, but as the recording progressed another voice joined the chorus--with a stunning plink-whistle that I can't (yet) identifythe song sounds a little disjointed [drink your..., without the tea] but I'm pretty sure it was the towhee. (Sorry for all the wind noise).

Nice views of an ovenbird, rose-breasted grosbeak, ruby-crowned kinglet, and a scarlet tanager pair who were messing with a family of titmice, plus zillions of dragonflies, amphibian life, and butterflies (I actually heard a butterfly for the first time, startling it as I walked past its blueberry bush). Didn't see any beavers, but their lodge is most impressive.